The Language I Live: Oh Life, Don’t Fly So Fast

«О, не лети так, жизнь, слегка замедли шаг…»
— Rauf Kubaev, О, не лети так, жизнь

There are songs where a man begs for love.
There are songs where he says thank you for the years that passed.
And then there are songs like this one — where a man is not talking to a woman at all,
but to life itself.

This is a voice that does not shout. It whispers, but every word cuts deeper than any scream.

Original Text (Russian)

О не лети так, жизнь, слегка замедли шаг.
Другие вон живут, неспешны и подробны.
А я живу — мосты, вокзалы, ипподромы.
Промахивая так, что только свист в ушах.

О не лети так жизнь, я от ветров рябой.
Позволь мне этот миг как следует запомнить.
А, если повезёт, то даже и заполнить.
Хоть чьи-нибудь глаза хоть сколь-нибудь собой.

О не лети так жизнь, на миг но задержись.
Уж лучше ты меня калечь, пытай и мучай.
Пусть будет всё — тюрьма, болезнь, несчастный случай.
Я всё перенесу, но не лети так, жизнь.

English Rendering

Oh life, don’t fly so fast, slow down your step.
Others live slowly, with detail, with order.
And I live — in bridges, train stations, racetracks.
Missing everything, with only the whistle in my ears.

Oh life, don’t fly so fast, I am scarred by the winds.
Let me remember this moment properly.
If I’m lucky, let me even fill it,
At least someone’s eyes, with at least a trace of myself.

Oh life, don’t rush, pause for a moment.
Better cripple me, torture me, test me.
Let it be prison, sickness, misfortune.
I will endure it all — just don’t fly so fast, life.

Why This Text Is Impossible to Translate

The Russian original lives in its rhythm.
“О не лети так, жизнь” — this is not just “life, don’t fly.”
It is an imperative and a plea at the same time.
English cannot carry both. You must choose:
“Don’t fly” (command) or “Please, don’t fly” (request).
Russian allows both — in one breath.

La frase “мосты, вокзалы, ипподромы” sounds almost chaotic, yet poetic.
Bridges, train stations, racetracks — a whirlwind of male life, of rushing and gambling.
In English, these are only nouns. In Russian, they are identity.

The line “хоть чьи-нибудь глаза хоть сколь-нибудь собой” is even harder.
Literally: “at least someone’s eyes, with at least a little of myself.”
It sounds broken. But in Russian, broken is the point.
The man doesn’t speak like a poet. He speaks like someone running out of time.

Cultural Weight

This is not a song a 20-year-old could sing.
It needs the face of a man who has seen train stations, missed moments, endured wind and failure.

If Petlyura sang it, it would sound like street drama.
If Kurenkov sang it, it would sound too tender.
If Malinin sang it, it would sound too elegant.

But when Rauf Kubaev sings it, it sounds like confession.
Because it is his voice, his timbre, his biography that make the words believable.
And this is what students of language must understand: words live only in voices.

Lessons for Learners

1. Grammar is never neutral.
   The imperative “не лети” holds both strength and weakness. Students need to see how one form can contain two emotions.
2. Vocabulary is cultural.
   Bridges, stations, racetracks — these are not settings. They are metaphors for a life in motion, a life without pause.
3. Translation must be interpretive.
   To render “пусть будет всё — тюрьма, болезнь, несчастный случай” as simply “let it be prison, sickness, misfortune” is to miss the resilience in his voice. In Russian, it is not surrender — it is defiance.
4. Identity shapes meaning.
   You cannot detach the singer from the words. The same lyrics in another man’s mouth would mean something else entirely.

Why This Belongs Here

At Levitin Language School we do not only teach vocabulary.
We teach how language carries life, identity, emotion, and silence.
We teach how to hear meaning beyond grammar.
And this song is the perfect lesson:
A man telling life itself — “Don’t fly so fast.”

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Author: Tymur Levitin — founder and director of Levitin Language School (Start Language School by Tymur Levitin), translator, teacher, and columnist.
© Tymur Levitin. Todos los derechos reservados.